Dummy keyboard



J. W. McCANN.

DUMMY KEYBOARD.

APPLICATION r1150 FEB. 23, 1921-.

2 SHEETS-SHEET I.

J 14 Ma (20112,

3% M autumn;

a type and Mono-type constructions of linotype UNITED STATES PATENTOFFICE. I

' JOSEPH w. McCANN, OF WAS INGTON,

nis'rnrcr or conumnianssrsivon, BY

I DIRECT ANDJMESNE ASSIGNMENTS, or oivn nanr T0 JOSEPH H. MeCANN ANDVONE-HALF T0 GEORGE, P. KIMMEL, BOTH, or WASHINGTON, DISTRICT orCOLUMBIA.

, DUMMY KEYBOAR Application filed February 23, 1921. Serial No. 447,050.

I T 0 all whom it may concern Be it known that I, JOSEPH W.'McCANN,

a citizen ofthe UnitedStates, residing at the following isaspecification.

My invention"pertains to dummy or prac tice keyboards, and itcontemplates the provision of a simple and durable keyboard cal culatedto enable a person of average intelligence with a reasonable amount ofstudy and practice to acquire the quick and light touch that isnecessary to bring down a matrix in the Mergenthaler linotype-machine atpresent in general use, to determine the speed he is making, to practiseto the same advantage as on the'keyboard of a Mergenthaler machine witha view of becoming proficient in the use of all ofhis fingers and thumbsin rapidly operating a Mergenthaler machine, and to memorize or fix inhis mind the relative arrangement of the keys comprised in the keyboardof said machine, so that he can operate the keys speedily and correctlywithout looking at the keyboard. i

In addition to the foregoing enumerated features and purposes of theinvention, the same contemplates an extremely simplified andcomparatively inexpensive construction and arrangement ofthe parts of adummy keyboardnot only of the specific character mentioned, but also ofthe form corresponding to that of the keyboards of theIntermachines andof typewriters in general, and

one wherein the extremely light and resilifent, or springy, action ofthe key levers now used on Mergenthaler machines, and kindred machines,is substantially duplicated, or

otherwise closely imitated,so that an operator should experience notrouble in the proper manipulation of the key levers of an actualmachine after having faithfully practise; a sufficient period of timeonthe pres ent'device, also, it is further contemplated to.

facilitate the assembly of the parts of the device by forming eachalined set of key elemcnts'from "a single strip of spring metal, theindividual key levers thereof being stamped out, or otherwise cut, so asto have their inner ends integrally connected, whereby the connectedportion thereof may be utilized for the fastening of the key levers .1nproper position on a baseboard, while the free outer end of each keylever is so stamped or cutas to have a surplus of the metal sufficientfor the shaping of the same to a configuration corresponding to the keysproper, e. that portion of the key levers touched by the fingers duringtheir manipulation thereof, of an actual machine.

' With the foregoing and other advantages and objects in view, theinvention resides in the certain new, novel, and useful construction andarrangement of parts; the same being an improvement over theconstruction and arrangement embodied in my Letters Patent of the UnitedStates, numbered 823,888, and dated June 19', 1906;,such as will behereinafter more fully described, set forth in the appended claims, andillustrated in the accompanying drawings, in which Figure 1 is a topplan view illustrating the dummykeyboard constituting the present andpreferred embodiment of the invention,

Fig. 2 is an end elevation ofthe same as it appears when set up readyfor use,

Fig. 3 is a transverse section taken on the line 3-3 of Fig. l, and,

Fig. i is a plan view of the blank showing the manner and method offorming aunit row of keys therefrom.

7 Referring to the drawings, wherein similar characters of referencedesignate corresponding parts in the several views thereof, the presentform. of the invention has been more particularly described inconnection with the hlergenthaier type of lino-type machine, and thenumeral 10 indicates the body of the dummy keyboard, which comprises alength of wood of board form, having its longer sides constituting thefront and rear edges of the same, and which is strength ened by means ofstrips 11, extending transversely across the grain at the opposite endsof thetiunder face thereof. -This body or baseboard 10 is designed to besupported by hinged prop 12 in such a position that its upper surfaceforms an inclined plane, as illustrated in Fig. 2, and, when the same isnot in use, the prop 12 is to folded against Specification of LettersPatent. Patented July 19, 1921. i

the lower surface thereof, so as to take up but a minimum amount ofspace in storage or shipment. Rising from the rear edge of the body orbaseboard 10 is a copy holder 13, the same preferably comprising a pieceof sheet metal, substantially rectangular in form, having a flange 1% atits lower edge for the supporting thereon of sheets of copy, and ametallic frame 17 is secured to the back oi the holder 13, and hasdownwardly extending terminal studs 16 adapted to be removably engagedin suitable eyes, or the like, 17, projecting outwardly from the rearedge of the body or baseboard. By virtue of this construction, the copyholder may obviously be detached and laid flat against the under side ofthe body or baseboard 10 for convenience in storage or shipment.

Extending longitudinally of the body or baseboard l0 inwardly of therear edge and horizontally :ith respect to the upper face thereof is aspace bar 18, preferably formed of a suitable length of wooden strip,which i resiliently supported by spaced strips 19, of spring metal,which are secured at one end to the rear edge of the body baseboard andare bent in a forwardly and up wardly inclined direction and have theirfree ends secured to the under face of the space bar 18, whereby to holdthe same spaced above and parallel to the upper face of the body orbaseboard 10, but free. for down and up movement with respect to thelatter. The left hand end of the s 18.66 bar 18 is projected for a veryslight distance beyond the left hand end of the body or baseboard 10,and has secured thereon a finger piece o0, preferably of spring metaling in spaced relation above and p the complemental end of the baseb tothe outer side of the under face of which dependingly supported a dog 21arranged, so that when the finger piece 20 is depressed, to engage atoothed wheel 22. The toothed wheel 22 designed to be rotated step bystep by the depression the fingerpietie 20, and is held againstretrograde movement by a gravitating pawl 23. hen the toothed wheel 22makes halt revolution, one of apair of diametrically extending arms 2carried thereby, acts against the adjacent inclined edge of asubstantially triangular shaped striker memb r 2. causing the lat-- terto swing on its pivotal support or pin 25, projecting outwardly from theend of the body or baseboard 10 and strike against a signal bell 26,thereby appraising the student operator that he, or she, is approachingthe end oi a line approximating the length of a standard measure or"type. i

T he mechanism described is preferably arranged to notify the studentwhen he has set a line of ordinary newspaper measure averaging sevenwords or approximatel 2T ems, and when it is employed with a number of,say, 1.00 quads or other articles, it enables the student to determinethe speed he is making. In this use, the operator places at his right ona suitable support 100 quads. hen the bell rings, he knows that he hasset six words, and l e then sets an additional word and picks a quadfrom the pile. This picking 01" a quad is a substitute for raising alover of an ordinary hllergzcnthaler machine, and by observing, atimepiece, the studentis enabled to readily determine the length of timeit takes him to set up 100 lines or about 2700 ems.

Mounted on the upper surface of the body or baseboard 10 is a bank ofkeys, which are relatively arranged in the une manner as the keys in akeyboard oil the Mergenthaler linctype machine, and the same boarcorresponding characters and thus it will be apparent that a personpractising on a dummy keyboard wil become acquainted with the actualkeyboard of the machine mentioned, to such an extent that he, or she,can operate said actual keyboard after the usual and desired manner,with the fingers and thumbs of both hands, accurately and speedilymunipulating the several keys by touch, and, consequently, withoutlooking at the keyboard. This latter is an important desideration,inasmuch as it is extremely advantageous tor a lv ergenthalor operator,while operating the keyboard, to watch the working of the machine. Thekeys are grou cd or relatively arranged on the inclined plane of thebody or baseboard 10, in the manner shown, and are idcnt-i ll with theexception that each bears a different character. As a further aid to theoperator to properly learn and distinguish between capital letters,small letters, and characters, a bank of keys be divided into sub-groupsby using a uerent color for each group of such subgroups, and for thepurpose and as shown, the left hand sub-group oi small letters.designated by bracket (1, may be colored black with the letters thereonformed of: a contrasting color. or white the intermediate sub-group oit'characte designated by bracket Z), colored a light blue, with thecharacters thereon formed of a contrasting color or black; and the righthand subgroup of capital letters, designated by bracket 0, colored adifferent color, or white, with the capital letters thereon formed of acontrasting color, or black.

The bank of keys is composed of a required number of longitudinallyextending rows, each parallel to the other, and with respect to thespace bar 18 and the front and rear edges 01" the body or baseboard 10.The keys of each row are equi-distantly spaced apart and each consistsof a strip thin brass, or other suitable spring sheet metal, formed toprovide a body or arm portion 27, a character bearing finger 28 at theouter end, and an angularly bent porin afhorizontal direction, and at anacute Mergenthaler machine.

angle with respect to the inclined face of the body or baseboard, whenthe same is properly positioned for operation.

A major length of the body, or arm portion 27, of the keys, .of theforwardly. arranged rows thereofextends in underlying relation withrespect to the next rearwardly adjacent row, so that the rows of thefinger portions 28 are closely spaced one with respect to the other, andunderlying each row of the latter portions 28 and in parallel relationwith respect .to the plane of the under faces thereof, arelongitudinally extending members or key abutments 30, which have theiropposite ends 31 an'gularly bent in a downward direction for securedengagement in the face of the body or baseboard 10; These members .orkey abutments 30, between-the angularly bent end portions 31 thereof,each overlie, in spaced -relation thereto, intermediate portions of thebody or arm portions 27. of the keys, and extend in a plane parallelthereto, and spaced below the plane of the medial transverse centers ofthe fingerportions 28 of the adjacent rearwardly disposed rowof keys, sothat the keys of each row/are free for alimited downward or depressedmovement before striking the said members or key abutments. The membersor key abutments 30 are preferably. formed of metal rods, circular incross section, and are designed to have a certain degree of resiliency,which, in conjunction with the resiliency'of the keys, assures for theaction of the latter closely imitating, or otherwise duplicating, theextreme light actionjof the actual keys of the The present inventioncontemplates that .each row'o-f keys beconstructed as a unit,

and forthis purpose, the same are-struck from a blank32 of sheetmetal,preferably of sheet brass or other suitable metal having a sufficient orrequired degree ofresiliency, In this method of forming. the keys inunit rows,the blank of sheet metal is stamped or cut out to provideequal spaces between the body or arm portions 27 of the individual keys,and the angularly bent portions 29 are in the formof a stripconnectingthe inner ends of all of the keys, and this strip portion 29 is to beprovided with a series of 'equi-distantly spacedopenings for theinsertion *therethroug'hof suitable fastenings33, by means of which thesame are secured to the body' or baseboard 10. In stamping or cuttingout the body or arm portions 27, the free ends of the same are formedsubstantially rectangular in form,

27 angularly to form a shoulder 34 at their point of connection with thefingercontacting portions 28, and then bendingthe offset side and endportions 28 of the latter downwardly at right angles with respect to theupper faces of the same. 3

The bent portions 28' constitute depending flanges corresponding indepth to that of the wall of the shoulders 34, so that the fingerportions 28 present a neat appearance, one a substantial duplicate ofthe other. The finger portions 28 are now substantially square in plan,and may, if desired, have their flat faces slightly and inwardlydepressed whereby to facilitate the proper engagement of the operatorsfingers theremanner described, wvill, when depressed against the keyabutments 30, give to the touch of the operator, and when relieved ofpressure will spring of themselves back to the normal positionillustrated, also that the touch necessary to depress the free ends ofthe keys is similar to thatrequired to manipulate the keys of theMergenthaler keyboard, and thereby bring down a single matrix. From thislatter it follows that the student using the novel dummy keyboarddescribed herein is enabled to acquire not only speed, but also theproper touch so requisite to the successful operation of theMcrgenthaler linotype machinel In addition to,'or as a substitute forthe use of'100 quads in a pile or stack atone side of the operator forsimulating the manual actuation of a lever controllingthe operation ofthe machine after each line of type has been set, the invention contem-)lates the )lacin of a lever 32 at a convenient point on the base-board10, as by pivoting the-same at 33 to one edge of the latter sothatitproject's in a forward direction from the front edge of the same insubstantial parallel relation to the surface of the keyboard support ortable A. The lever 32 is resiliently supported on a spring member 34 inany suitable manner, or by having the latter formed of an angularly bentstrip of spring metal with one end connecting the under side of thelever 32 and its other or free end resting on the surface of the supportor tableA as shown in Fig. 2. When the signal bell 26 rings to indicatethe setting of words required for a line of newspaper measure, theoperator will then touch the lever 32 and depress the same to simulatethe similar movement required on actual linotype machines for thesetting in mot-ion of the elevator, the type casting, and the typedistributing mechanisms thereof.

It will be gathered from the foregoing that the novel device is simpleand well adapted to withstand the usage to whr'h such devices areordinarily subjected, also that the device will enable a studentoperator to attain a degree of finish and speed in practice work whichwould require a much longer period to reach were the practice confinedsolely to the daily work on a machine when accuracy forbids an attemptat speed and the necessity of sending up so many lines per minute makesit inexpedient to experiment on method.

In addition to the practical advantages which I have hereinbeforeascribed to my novel dummy keyboard, it will be noted that the same isvery light in weight and is therefore adapted to be carried from placeto place with facility.

Having thus fully described my invention, what is claimed, is

l. A dummy keyboard comprising a body having an upper surface arrangedto form an inclined plane, rows of keys resiliently pivoted directly tothe inclined plane of said body, and a unitary member constituting aresilient means associated with each row of said keys for limiting theirpivotal movement and to facilitate the action thereof.

2. 4i dummy keyboard comprising a body having an upper surface arrangedto form an inclined plane, longitudinally extending rows of inherentlyresilient keys mounted for up and down movement directly on the inclinedplane of said body, and a unitary member constituting an inherentlyresilient means associated with each row of said keys for limiting themovement thereof and to facilitate the action of the same.

A dummy keyboard comprising a body having an upper surface arranged toform an inclined plane, longitudinally extending rows of keys mountedfor pivotal movement directly on the inclined plane of said body, aresilient; member extending under each row of said keys for limiting themovement thereof and to facilitate the action of the same, and means forsupporting said memher in position.

4. A dummy keyboard comprising a body having an upper surface arrangedto form an inclined plane, longitudinally extending rows of keys mountedfor pivotal movement directly on the inclined plane of said body, aninherently resilient member extending under each row of said keys forlimiting the movement thereof and to facilitate the action of the same,and means for supporting said member in position.

A dummy keyboard comprising a body having an upper surface arranged toform an inclined plane, longitudinally extending rows of keys of sheetmetal mounted directly on the inclined plane of said body, a unitarymember constituting a resilient means extending under each row of saidkeys for limiting the movement thereof and to facilitate the action ofthe same, and means for supporting said rods in position.

(3. A dummy keyboard comprising a body having an upper surface arrangedto form an inclined plane, longitudinally extending rows of keys ofsheet metal mounted directly on the inclined plane of said body, aninherently resilient rod extending under each row of said keys forlimiting the movement thereof and to facilitate the action of the same,and means for supporting said rods in position.

7. A dummy keyboard comprising a body having an upper surface arrangedto form an inclined plane, longitudinally extending rows of keys ofsheet metal mounted directly on the inclined plane of said body, and aninherently resilient rod extending under each row of keys for limitingthe movement thereof and to facilitate the action of the same, said rodshaving their opposite ends bent to provide angularly disposed portionsadapted for engagement in the face of the inclined plane of said bodywhereby the same are supported in position.

8. The combination with a dummy keyboard including an inclined body andan indicating space bar ext-ending longitudinally of the body on therear side thereof, of rows of resilient keys of sheet metal supportedfor movement on the outer inclined face of said body, and inherentlyresilient abutment members underlying each row of said keys for limitingthe movement and to facilitate the action of the same.

9. The method of making a unit row of key levers which consists in thestamping or cutting out intermediate portions from one side edge of ablank of resilient metal to form a plurality of spaced parallel leverarms connected at one end to the blank and having their free ends of agreater width than the intermediate poltions thereof. bending theopposite side and end edges of the free end portions to provide flangesdepending therefrom, bending the intermediate portions of said leverarms on transverse lines on the line of their connection with theflanges and portions and on lines inward from the latter whereby toprovide a vertically disposed connecting wall between the intermediateportions of the lever arms and the free end portions thereof, andbending the inner connected portions of the lever from resilient sheetmaterial constructed and arranged to provide alternate spaces andparallel lever arms at one edge of the blank, the lever arms being bentat an angle to the blank whereby the latter constitutes a supporttherefor. i

11. As an article of manufacture, a key lever construction comprising ablank made from resilient sheet material constructed and arranged toprovide "alternate spaces and parallel lever arms at one edge of theblank, the outer free ends of the lever arms being offset above theplane of the intermediate portions thereof to provide finger'engagingportions thereon, the lever arms being bent at an angle to the blankwhereby the latter constitutes a support therefor.

12. The combination with a dummy keyboard including an inclined body andan indicating space bar carried by said body, of rows of keys supportedfor movement on the outer inclined face of said body, a unitary memberconstituting a resilient means associated with each row of said keys forlimiting the movement thereof and to facilitate the action of the same,and a lever pivotally supported on said body for simulating theactuation of a mechanism control lever of an actual machine.

13. As an article of manufacture, a key lever construction comprising ablank substantially rectangular in form made from resilient sheet metaland constructed and arranged to provide alternate spaces and parallellever arms at one edge of the blank, the outer free ends of the leverarms being oflset above the plane of the intermediate portions thereofto provide finger engaging portions and formed to provide depending sideand end flanges corresponding in depth to that of the wall connectingthe same to the intermediate portions of the lever arms, the lever armsbeing bent at an angle to the blank whereby the latter constitutes asupport therefor.

In testimony whereof, I affix my signature hereto. I

JOSEPH W. MoCANN.

